Part of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines at the scene of a catastrophic accident near the capital of Addis Ababa, March 15, 2019. (Photo: AFP / VNA)

Both planes were Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. Last Sunday the Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.

Ms Dagmawit told journalists on Sunday that clear similarities were noted between Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610, which would be the subject of further study during the investigation. A preliminary report would be released within 30 days. The Lion Air flight crash killed 181 people.